Isra-Mart srl:ABB pulls in latest offshore wind connection order

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Isra-Mart srl news:

Europe's offshore wind revolution edged forward again yesterday after Belgian energy firm C-Power NV announced it had appointed Swiss engineering giant ABB to connect its latest offshore wind farm to the mainland in a $125m (£80m) deal.

The connection will support the expansion of the Thornton Bank wind farm 30 kilometres off the coast of Belgium, which currently provides 30MW of capacity from six turbines. The next two phases of the project will see a further 48 turbines added at the site, taking its overall capacity to 325MW.

Under the terms of the deal, ABB will be responsible for the system engineering, design, supply and commissioning of the offshore sub-station and the platform that will house it, as well as the underwater and land-based cable systems.

The project is scheduled to be fully operational by 2013, at which point it will deliver carbon emission savings equivalent to 450,000 tons a year compared to the most efficient gas-powered power plants. The wind farm is also expected to generate 1,000GWh of electricity each year, equivalent to the annual consumption of 600,000 people in Belgium.

Peter Leupp, head of ABB's Power Systems division, said the deal underlined the company's ability to transmission links that represent a "key component in the effort to balance the growing need for electricity with climate change concerns".

ABB is fast emerging as one of the leading players in Europe's expanding offshore wind energy sector, after earlier this year securing its largest ever transmission order in the form of a $700m deal to link a number of North Sea wind farms to the German grid.